Figure 3. Pancreatic NK cells have an activated phenotype.

A) NK cells pooled from five 8-week-old NOD mice were assayed for maturational status using CD11b and CD27. Both the pancreas and liver had more CD11b^loCD27^lo NK cells than in the spleen. B) Histograms of CD11b and CD27 (gated on CD3-, NKp46⁺ cells) demonstrate a lower mean fluorescence intensity of these markers on pancreatic NK cells relative to splenic NK cells. CD11c, CD69, and KLRG1 were increased on pancreatic NK cells. Lower expression of CD49b, CD43, and NKp46 on pancreatic NK cells was also indicative of activation. Example from one of five similar experiments is shown.